Sustainability in luxury cars

Decreasing the ecological footprint has been the common goal of most car manufacturers, increasingly intensifying their efforts in the electrification of their models. The luxury car segment is no exception in this trend, launching hybrid or even 100% electric versions for any consumers who are increasingly concerned about the environment, but who don’t want to go without all the other must-haves in such vehicles, such as performance, exclusivity and quality of materials, in particular those used in the interiors. 
Although electric vehicles produce zero emissions, what some people often question is their true ecology, if we analyse the entire manufacturing and energy production process that powers them. In addition to this, another issue that elicits some controversy is exactly how ‘green’ can a car be, if its interior is full of plastics, leathers and other composites.
In this matter, the luxury segment is leading the trends, seeking, through new techniques, to replace leather, wood and wool, not only in order to ‘challenge’ these materials, but in an attempt to comply with the interests of the industry and customers by making more environmentally friendly choices. 
Using a processed fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and clothing fibres for the seats; or rattan, which is nothing more than a compressed wood product made from a kind of palm tree, which is sustainably harvested and used for the dashboards; or experimenting with vegan leather, made from grape skins, seeds and stems; or using fishing nets to produce the interior carpets and mats, are good examples of the luxury segment’s contribution to making this industry even greener and more sustainable.